Sunnybrook in the driver's with Mississippi Driver's Ed program for foster youth

Mississippi Pilot Program Offers Driver’s Education for Foster-Care Students

Jan 20, 2025

Article as originally published on Mississippi Free Press on December 19, 2024

Written by Torsheta Jackson

Sunnybrook Children’s Home has operated as a Christian childcare organization since its founding in 1963 and is now licensed to provide care for foster children—a responsibility that includes supporting young people as they transition out of the foster system. But Executive Director Myrle Grate noticed the program was missing one essential component: driver’s education.

“You can’t get a job, especially in the South. You can’t go to the grocery store or to the doctor without a driver’s license,” he told the Mississippi Free Press on Nov 22. “About five years ago, we decided to try to change some of the statistics, so we created a driving program for our residents on our campus.”

Those statistics paint a revealing picture: An estimated 20,000 young people in transition exit the foster care system each year but less than 5% of them have a driver’s license. Grate said few who exit foster care ever receive their licenses. 

He reached out to Ridgeland High School Driver’s Education instructor Eddie Easley. The pair discussed what it would take to start a driving program at the home. 

Easley was happy to assist. He taught his first group of students in the summer of 2023. 

“We bounced around ideas for a while and that led to me coming in the summertime and doing a two-week course with the students at Sunnybrook,” Easley told the Mississippi Free Press on Nov. 27.

Sunnybrook is now expanding the program statewide through a $2.1 million grant from the Mississippi Department of Child Protective Services. The courses are offered during the summer and other school breaks and are open to any student who is in CPS custody. 

Sunnybrook Children’s Home Executive Director Myrle Grate
Sunnybrook Children’s Home Executive Director Myrle Grate said providing the means for young people in foster care to earn a driver’s license can be life-changing for them. Photo courtesy Myrle Grate

The Transportation and Driving Pilot program is the first in the state. Young people in foster care who are 15 or older can receive a free driver’s education course and six hours of practice driving time. They also receive help preparing for the written exam to earn their learner’s permit. Participants are awarded $100 stipends when they obtain a permit and $250 when they earn a driver’s license. 

“The first two hours of the day is the prep class so we’re covering everything that’s needed to pass the permit test down at the DMV,” Easley told the Mississippi Free Press on Nov. 27. “Then in the afternoon, the ones who have obtained the permit start their driving time. And even the ones that already have a license still sit in the class and learn.”

The program has already expanded to include Meridian and Clinton locations. Grate said they will cover the cost of the car insurance and install a passenger brake system in the vehicle used for the course.

The program comes at a critical time. Mississippi Senate Bill 2695, which Gov. Tate Reeves signed into law on May 10, requires driver’s license applicants to complete a driver education and training program to obtain a license. Mississippi Department of Education regulations require the instructor to hold a certification in driver education from an approved teacher training institution.

Easley uses his network to coordinate the driver’s education teachers. “Merle had more ideas to branch out and help foster kids all over the State of Mississippi,” Easley said. “So whenever there’s a need, I get on the phone, text, email and reach out to different locations and see who’s willing to help those students get the permit, and then also get in the vehicle and give them some driving time.”

Young people in the foster system encounter specific challenges to obtaining a license. They often do not have access to legal documents required as a form of verification. Sunnybrook works with CPS to get the original documents. Grate said workers at the driver’s license bureau are often unaware of specific laws regarding foster children obtaining their licenses.

Ridgeland HS Driver's Ed Teacher
Ridgeland High School driver’s education teacher Eddie Easley teaches the program for Sunnybrook Children’s Home during summer and holiday breaks. He also helps coordinate driver’s education teachers for the other sites in the state. Photo courtesy Eddie Easley

“(We) provide them with a copy of the bill that clarifies that foster children are not supposed to pay fees for driver’s licenses or driver permits because most of the DMVs are not aware of that,” he said. “In fact, we had to go to the actual Department of Safety to have a meeting with them to talk about it.” 

Since the pandemic, the Mississippi Highway Patrol no longer gives driving exams. First-time applicants can immediately upgrade a learner’s permit to a driver’s license once a parent, guardian or teacher signs an affidavit saying that the applicant has been given a minimum of 50 hours of driving practice. While this likely made the process easier for most, children in foster care may not have access to a car or a stable adult to help with the training. To encourage foster parents to help fulfill this requirement, the program reimburses them at the state mileage rate for practice driving time.  

“You are asking a family to spend essentially their own money and put a kid who they don’t know and who’s been with them for maybe just a couple of months in their vehicle and drive around,” Grate said. “That’s a lot, so we said we’ll reimburse you for your gas if you will do it.”

Grate said earning the license provides opportunities for adolescents to access employment opportunities leading to an increased chance of success in adulthood. Sunnybrook reports an 88% employment rate with residents remaining on the job for a minimum of six months.  

About 40 students have participated in the program since it began in 2022 and all have obtained their driver’s license or permit. Sunnybrook offers other transitional services that include money management and life skills. Grate said that 65% of the youth they service exit the foster care system with a vehicle they have purchased with their own money. 

“When the kids leave us, (they) have employment, car ownership, thousands of dollars in their pocket, and a driver’s license,” Grate said. “It is truly unique and we’re very proud of what we do. We think we have a deep impact on the foster kids that come through our gates. The driving program is just a piece of that.”

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